LONDON'S SECRET GARDEN RESTAURANT
Kensington Rooftop Gardens
Archived - the Roof Gardens have closed
Kensington
Gardens lies at the western end of Hyde Park an area surrounded by
many of London’s tourist hotels. The Bayswater area extends
a few blocks north, Kensington and Notting Hill are just to the west
and busy Glouster Road to the south. The London Underground tube Central
Line makes several stops on Bayswater Road along the park’s northern
edge. Bayswater Road turns into Oxford Street into the central heart
of London. A strolling walk or jog takes you past the fountain monument
dedicated to Princess Diana and the back garden entrance to the Kensington
Palace. The back yards
of the former Victorian mansions face the park allowing for the feeling
of peeping into the secret lives of the old English upper crust.
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Just
a block from the southwest corner of the park on the rooftop of a one-time
department store, a world away
from the hustle and bustle of
modern London is a real “secret garden”. Created as a respite
for busy shoppers on to the top floor of a 1932 building known as the "Derry
and Toms" after its two founders, the Kensington Roof Gardens are
now a protected historic preservation site with three themed gardens
of climbing vines, oaks and tropical palm trees, rose buses, fish streams,
duck ponds and flamingos in water pools. Stone paths lead through the
Spanish Garden, Tudor Garden and classic English style Woodland Garden,
an acre and a half of lost wilderness bounded in the center of the city
sprawl. Redeveloped by Sir Richard Branson of Virgin Airlines and
the rest of the empire, the rooftop's Babylon restaurant is a popular
spot for fine dining cuisine, but perfect to enjoy a midday lunch "Al
Fresco" with fresh fruit from the pear trees and berry bushes picked
in season a few feet from your table, seeming miles away from the distant
sound of the city blocked by lush greenery. The Rooftop Gardens also
has a swanky members night club, but entrance is by guest list and the
gardens are a popular spot for corporate parties and private events,
during which they close to the public, so its a good idea to call ahead
before just popping in.
Entrance to the Kensington Roof Gardens is through the lobby of the building at 99 Kensington High Street a few minutes walk from the tube stop at High Street Kensington from either the Circle and District Underground lines. © Bargain Travel Europe
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Kensington Rooftop Gardens
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See Also:
BEST
WESTERN PHOENIX HOTEL
TOWER OF LONDON
LONDON THRILLER – HITCHCOCK SLEPT HERE
TATTERSHALL CASTLE BAR & NIGHT CLUB
